South Africa called as many as five wrist spinners in the nets ahead of the third ODI against India on Wednesday, hoping it will help their struggling batsmen combat the combined threat of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. [...]

A day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that the government will not be able to divulge certain details of Rafale fighter jet deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said "this only means there is a scam." [...]

The effects of meltdown in stock markets across the globe could be clearly seen in Indian markets on Tuesday. Market sentiment took a beating following sharp losses in other Asian markets which was driven by a record-loss on Wall Street. {image-sensex-1517921935.jpg [...]

Afghan police have increased searches of emergency vehicles – a deadly delay in an already perilous cityAs Kabul ambulance driver Zemari Khan raced a bleeding patient to hospital on Thursday, he came to one of the city’s latticework of checkpoints. A long line of vehicles had suddenly been waved through, but Khan was ordered to stop, hand over his ID and open the rear door so a police officer could check if his patient was real. In the week since the Taliban detonated an explosives-laden ambulance on a busy shopping street, killing 105 people, life has become harder across the Afghan capital – but particularly so for its paramedics. Related: New wave of Afghans seek a way out as fear grips Kabul Continue reading... [...]

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was on Monday given an extension till June 30, 2019. Kant, a 1980 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog on February 17, 2016 for a two-year term. [...]

Porsche is developing the most driver-focused version of its current 718 Boxster. The car will be heavily related to the 718 Cayman GT4. In place of its current hottest 718’s turbocharged 2.5-litre flat-four, the new car will use the naturally aspirated, flat-six engine of the latest 911 GT3. The German automaker has now moved testing to the cold climate of the Arctic Circle.
Porsche Motorsport has stuck to the formula applied to the car’s predecessors, which have cemented themselves as the driver’s Boxster model since 2009, giving the car a more responsive drivetrain that will make it the most involving Boxster on sale.
“Natural aspiration is one of our main USPs,” Andreas Preuninger, head of GT car development at Porsche told our sister publication, Autocar UK, earlier this year. “At Motorsport, we think we can achieve throttle response and immediacy a little bit better with an atmospheric high-revving engine than any kind of turbo.”
Output for the 4.0-litre unit is rated at 500hp at 8,250rpm in the 911 GT3. However, the Boxster Spyder’s power may be slightly down on this, in order to leave breathing space for its more expensive sibling.
The previous Spyder used a 3.8-litre flat-six taken from the 911 Carrera of the time that was good for 375hp. The recently unveiled Boxster GTS and related Cayman GTS use highly-strung four-pot engines with 366hp. So the new Spyder will need to produce more power to cement itself as the top Boxster – an output of around 430hp seems likely.
To signify its driver-focus, the car will be offered with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard; but those after maximum on track performance will be able to select the option of a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission.
The Spyder will also go on a hefty diet, ditching cabin insulation, along with its radio and air conditioning. The 718 Boxster’s electric folding soft top will also go. Taking its place is a manually removable ‘tent top’. These weight savings will combine with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber to make the car the sharpest handling production Boxster, yet produced.
Much of the design treatment applied the Boxster Spyder will mirror those featured on the GTS. The Cayman GT4 will likely get the same adjustments, along with a more prominent rear wing to signify its even harder status.
There is no word on if the 718 Boxster Spyder will come to India. Considering the less hardcore GTS versions of the Cayman and Boxster will not be coming, the Spyder is less likely to do so. [...]

Srinagar, Feb 5: Terrorists lobbed a grenade on an Army camp in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday evening. The police have said that there was no damage. Terrorists attacked a camp of the Rashtriya Rifles unit of the [...]

The Uttar Pradesh Board exams for Class 10 and 12 will begin from Tuesday with 66.37 lakh students taking part, an official said. Of the total number of students, 29,81,387 students will appear for the Class 12 exam while [...]

The week around the IPL auction was "stressful" and left India's U-19 coach Rahul Dravid "worried" as some of his players, in the middle of an incredible run in the World Cup, waited with bated breath to land lucrative contracts. [...]

Judges ruled that imprisoned opposition leaders should be released, leading to a standoff and street protestsThe political crisis in the Maldives has deepened after the island nation’s government said it would not obey a supreme court order to free a group of imprisoned opposition leaders.The surprise judicial ruling last week has led to an increasingly tense standoff between the supreme court and the government of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, with protests spilling into the streets of the capital, Malé, and soldiers in riot gear deployed to the parliament building to prevent MPs from meeting. Continue reading... [...]

Nazmul Islam watched as the army prepared to attack his home in Tula Toli, where its Rohingya residents were raped and murderedAfter they finished burning the bodies, the soldiers ordered chicken curry.Nazmul Islam watched as local Buddhists set about preparing food for the men he says raped and massacred scores of Rohingya Muslims from the village of Tula Toli in the north of Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Related: Massacre at Tula Toli: Rohingya recall horror of Myanmar army attack The Rohingya are Muslims who live in majority-Buddhist Myanmar. They are often described as "the world's most persecuted minority". Continue reading... [...]

Brazilian driver Felipe Drugovich was crowned the 2017 MRF Challenge champion at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai. The 17-year-old completed the first two races of the weekend in third and sixth place respectively, but that was enough to seal the championship.
In Race 1, Presley Martono made a good start to lead into the first corner, with Rinus van Kalmthout slotting into second place after passing Drugovich. Van Kalmthout then passed Martono around the outside of the third corner, immediately pulling away as Martono fended off Drugovich and Julien Falchero. Drugovich tried to put pressure on Martono but the Indonesian held his ground.
Van Kalmthout comfortably won the first race of the weekend with Martono in second place ahead of Drugovich. During the race, Van Kalmthout also became the first ever driver to break the 1min 30secs barrier as he set a new lap record at the MMRT, with a time of 1min 29.967secs.
Before the reverse grid Race 2 started, Drugovich was given a 10 place penalty for a fuel infringement and had to start the race way back from 14th place. Polesitter Alex Karkosik had the perfect start and led into the first corner ahead of Danial Frost. There was chaos at Turn 2 as Manuel Maldonado, Pavan Ravishankar and Perdana Minang all crashed. Falchero, who is in a tight battle for second place in the championship, was forced to retire after making contact with van Kalmthout. There was more action as race leader Karkosik spun out of the lead, causing the race to be red flagged with five cars being out.
At the restart, Frost led ahead of Martono and van Kalmthout. However, he ran wide on lap 11, allowing both the drivers to get past. Martono went on to win the race ahead of van Kalmthout and Frost.
Finishing sixth gave Drugovich the points he needed to win the title with two races still remaining.
“It feels fantastic to win the championship. I have not been happy with the balance of the car today but I just did what I had to win the championship. This year has been great and consistency has been the main reason behind my title win. The weekend in Abu Dhabi stands out as the most memorable moment of this championship,” said Drugovich. [...]

BMW is working on a Gran Coupe version of the 2-series that will be headed by a 370hp M variant, which will take on the Audi RS3 sedan and Mercedes-AMG CLA 45.
The M2 coupé sibling will retain a longitudinally mounted engine and rear-wheel drive, making it a unique offering compared to its rivals, which use transversely mounted engines and four-wheel drive.
The carmaker believes this format will provide the M car with more engaging driving traits than its Audi and Mercedes-AMG competition. BMW also feels there is sufficient scope within its future line-up to accommodate an additional model riding on its widely used rear-wheel-drive platform, and hence the introduction of the 2-series Gran Coupe.
New pictures of a development car reveal the body shape and that the Gran Coupe gets rear doors and a raised rear roof section to create a five-door liftback shape, which, in M2 Gran Coupe form, promises to be a more practical performance offering than the regular M2.
The need to accommodate two conventional front-hinged rear doors and sufficient rear-seat legroom is said to be the reason behind giving the new car a wheelbase that is between the 2,690mm span of the 2-series Coupe and the 2,810mm of the 3-series sedan.
The 2-series Gran Coupe will sport a new interior layout that will be adopted by the successors to the current 2-series coupé and cabriolet that are due in 2020.
The turbocharged three-cylinder and four-cylinder engines for the 2-series Gran Coupé will mirror those of the existing coupé and cabriolet.
On the petrol side, expect a 136hp, 1.5-litre three-cylinder unit in the 218i Gran Coupe, together with 184hp and 245hp, 2.0-litre four-cylinders in the mid-range 220i and 225i Gran Coupe models, and a 330hp, 3.0-litre six-cylinder in the 235i Gran Coupe. Among the diesels will be 150hhp, 190hp and 224hp, 2.0-litre four-cylinders in the 218d, 220d and 225d Gran Coupe models.
As with the 2-series Gran Coupe’s two-door sibling, buyers will have a choice of a standard six-speed manual or optional eight-speed torque converter automatic gearbox, as well as standard rear-wheel drive or optional xDrive four-wheel drive. However, four-wheel drive will be offered with only a limited range of engines. The highlight of the new line-up, though, will be the M2 Gran Coupe.
The new M car will use the same 370hp, 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder engine as its two-door sibling. It will be offered with either a standard six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
The S55 B30-designated engine is expected to provide the M2 Gran Coupe with a performance similar to that of the M2 coupé, which has an official 0-100kph time of 4.5sec in manual and a limited top speed of around 250kph.
Also, there are talks of a 2-series Gran Coupe plug-in hybrid model. It is expected to use BMW’s turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor mounted within the forward section of a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox. And in combination with a lithium-ion battery pack positioned in the floor of the boot, this is intended to provide the new 225e Gran Coupe with an electric range of up to 50km.
The 2-series Gran Coupe models will be produced alongside the coupé and cabriolet at BMW's plant in Leipzig. [...]